Oil leak '98 2.2

[Charlie Sachs]

Well, Subaru fans, I'm back after a few years of Airhead commitment. I
bought my Legacy wagon new in January, 99 and rubbed elbows on this list for
a while and then drifted away. Since then my legacy served me well with
only one major repair- the clutch. In all fairness to the factory the car
did consume a clutch at 85K being driven city-style by my wife 99 percent of
the time. I had the dealer replace the belts on schedule and I followed the
exhausting service routine until warranty end.

Now I come back to beg advice about my oil leak. The location of the leak
seems to be the front crank seal. My son and I lifted the car and removed
the belt covers and the lower bolts on the center cover and peaked in using
a black light to detect dyed oil. We were not certain by it does seem to
seep from the crank area. Is this common?

I would like also to ask any experienced Subaru wrenches if an professional
machinist/amateur mechanic should attempt this job. I wanted to get
opinions before I invested in a Clymer manual or such. The oil isn't coming
out fast enough yet to soak the belts but I can tell it's increasing.
Should I change the belts while in there? Or should I mark the present
belt/pulley positions and not rotate the crank to avoid well known pitfalls
of belt replacement?

Thanks for any advice, Charlie, Pittsburgh, PA

PS. An Airhead is a 2V BMW twin motorcycle.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Now I come back to beg advice about my oil leak. The location of the leak
seems to be the front crank seal. My son and I lifted the car and removed

Sounds about right considering the year and miles on the car. IME, front
crank seals start to become suspect after around 75k or so--on lots of
cars, not just Subies. Time and heat will often get them if the miles
don't, too.

I would like also to ask any experienced Subaru wrenches if an professional
machinist/amateur mechanic should attempt this job. I wanted to get

Personally, I'd think if you are any kind of a "wrench" at all, you'll
be able to do the work easily with the book in one hand and wrenches in
the other! The job's not hard, but IS time consuming, especially that
first time when you only get to work with one hand cuz the other's
holding the book! Allow yourself a weekend first time--after that, it's
much faster. And do a search here for tips on getting the pulley bolt
out of the crank--people have various ways depending on what tools they
have available: an air wrench makes short order of the job if you have
one.

While you're in there, you should also replace the cam seals, and all
the seals on the oil pump (O-rings on back, shaft seal on front) and
check any belt tensioners for roughness--replace as necessary. Many
people will suggest replacing the water pump, too, since you've already
done the work of getting to it. Even if you don't replace the pump, be
sure to put a new bypass hose on it if your pump uses one (little "L"
shaped guy, about 4" or so long.)

New timing belts... that's kind of a judgment call. If you've only got a
few thousand miles on existing belts, you might be ok reusing old ones,
unless they've got oil on them. Then I'd replace 'em. And go with Subaru
OEM belts--there seems to be a big difference in quality and longevity
between them and aftermarket.

Best of luck!

Rick

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Gotta agree with Rick - sounds like you're up for the job. Don't skimp
or get in a hurry, taking out the radiator is safest IIRC. I think if
you have 10K or more miles on it I'd change the belt. Tensioer/idler
pulley bearings shold be wiggled. Its a shame when an idler freezes and
burns through a blet 13K after changing it because you didn't want to
spend an xtra $30 on the job.(that's what happened to me once.) On some
soobs engines, there are screws and an o-ring seal on the back of the
oil pump that need attention. I'd check the repair manual and search the
forums for pictures/description of the job at www.usmb.net . Might be a
good time to put lightened crank,alt and PS pulleys on for a little more
power on the butt dyno. Also, removing the crank pulley is work, and
some books list a too low torque figure. Again, check the usmb forum or
perhaps Rick knows.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

 

[CRGILL]

Lots of good advice here so far. The biggest problems I had with this job were
A) removing the crank pulley. Mine was rusted on. I soaked it with Liquid
Wrench & pushed & pulled from all angles to no avail. Eventually managed to
move it from underneath with a pry bar; and B) removing the old seals... they
had become brittle & would either break apart or bend the seal picks. Again,
managed in the end, but very frustrating. I then spent time cleaning up the
various shafts with very fine sandpaper followed by a last go round with
newspaper. Finally C) reseating the new seals. I could push them so far by
hand, but could not get enough leverage to fully seat them in that confined
apace. I ended up using a lever type valve spring compressor pushing down on
the old seal,pushing down on the new seal.

I also elected not to change the cam belt tensioner, which then gave up the
ghost about 2,500 miles later at 85mph on a freeway, allowing the cam belt to
slip. Fortunately a 2.2 non-interference engine, so had it towed home & did it
right, sigh.

Chris

 

[TG]

Replacing the crank seal and cam seals,timing belt, and resealing the oil
pump (don't want to do it all again right?) is extremely easy. It does take
some time but not much can be done wrong...get a manual...even if it the
Haynes that only goes to '96. TG